My preference is for a wet fly to sink slightly faster than my line. How fast the fly sinks depends on hook size/wire thickness, sparseness of tie, materials used, and amount of additonal weight (if any). I'll try to match both my fly and sinktip (if any) to the water being fished. I like my fly to be fishing slightly higher in the water column than the steelhead are sitting. That way the fish can see the fly from further away because it's not hidden down in/ or behind the rocks, and it's highlighted against the sky. The fish have a chance to think about taking my fly without having to make the fight or flight decision they might make if my fly was right in their face. If my line and/or fly is below or level with the fish, I'm lining and potentially spooking non-taking fish. This is the same rationale for why surface presentations work so well for summer/fall steelhead: a surface fly is easily seen, but doesn't present an immediate threat. I'm just moving my fly a little closer to fish to deal with colder, murkier water. I seem to use shorter and slower sinking tips than most. The advent of fast sinking tips really seems to have effected wet fly design big time -- nobody thinks too much about how well a fly sinks anymore which I think is a mistake. In pre-sinktip times, fly sink rates were a major consideration for tiers like Jim Pray and Ralph Wahl, and probably every other winter fisher. Nobody ties a real wet fly anymore - just big wiggly streamers.

Since I am currently 0 for 17 using sink tips maybe I should just go all dry fly for GLs steelhead then I can go 0 for 0 and still have the same landing percentage of 000 in the last 12 months.

What do you think ?

Then I can look down on all of the steelheaders using sinking lines and be alone in my own class of GL steelheading elite.

I can just imagine what the GLs steelheaders would do when I show up with my spey rod, double taper floating line, running drys through the runs with 30 degree water temops. Could be a priceless experience, maybe I could start a GLs trend a new level of elitism etc.. I could tell them I am doing research for GLs dry fly steelheading book.

LOL

Oh will I will think about it, now have to go think about the content of my 3,000 th post which is imminent.

BTW, the Masters starts today, and so will my golf swing this weekend at the range.

I think 'tradition' in salmon fishing is a double-sided blade: on the one hand, I love the traditional aspects of the sport--the literary history (and Frederick Hill's pet black bird), the subtleties of greased-line technique, a salmon reel with an 'S-curve' handle; on the other hand, 'tradition' can squash innovation.

Ask a seasoned guide on the Cascapedia, Restigouche, or Moisie what is the most significant technical advancement of the last fifty years, and he is likely to scratch his head.

I have long looked to my steelhead brothers on the West Coast, to Scandinavia, and, yes, in many cases, to the Emerald Isles for inspiration........